CRA All-Access Scholarship

The scholarship is open to female students and students from underrepresented communities and/or socioeconomically-challenging backgrounds who:

• are attending an accredited university on a full-time basis
• are a current sophomore in the US or penultimate year students in the UK
• are majoring in Economics, Business, or STEM
  • UK degree subjects will be approved by CRA
• have an overall GPA of 3.5 or 3.2 in their declared major
  • For UK students, must hold at least a 2:1 in their declared course

Ideal candidates have:

• demonstrated leadership and community service
• a financial need
• a commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity

*CRA Employees and their dependents are ineligible.

April 22, 2024 at 11:59PM Pacific Time Zone

April 29, 2024 at 11:59PM Pacific Time Zone

• Application Open: March 19, 2024
• Application Deadline: April 22, 2024
• Recommendation Deadline: April 29, 2024
• Notification of Selection Results: June 2024
• Funds Disbursed: August 2024

No. This award is not renewable.

To ensure complete impartiality in the selection of recipients and to maintain a high level of professionalism and security, the program is administered by International Scholarship and Tuition Services, Inc. (ISTS), an independent company that specializes in managing sponsored educational assistance programs.

An independent selection committee will evaluate the Complete applications and select recipients considering:

• Academic achievements
• Leadership and community service
• Financial need
• Personal essays
• Recommendation

Decisions of the selection committee are final and are not subject to appeal. No application feedback will be given.

• 12 awards of $5,000 each will be awarded annually and are not renewable.
• Scholarships must be applied toward your Junior year at university.
• Scholarships may be applied to tuition, fees, books, and supplies required for course work at accredited institutions in the United States and the United Kingdom. Students may transfer from one institution to another and retain the award.
• Scholarships may not be applied to room and board.

You must enroll as a full-time undergraduate junior student in the US or final year in the UK in the fall of the year in which the scholarship is awarded. You must continue the entire academic year without interruption unless approved by the scholarship sponsor. You are responsible for delivering your scholarship check(s) to the proper office at your institution with its attached instructions. You should notify ISTS should your check not arrive within 30 days of the issue date. You will receive an email notification when your funds are issued.

Your funds will be issued via check in July. Your check will be made payable to your institution listed on your My Profile page only. Your scholarship check cannot be made payable to you, the applicant. The check will be mailed to your home address so that you may deliver it to the correct office at your institution. You will receive an email notification once your funds have been issued.

If you are changing schools after the acceptance period, update your correct college choice on your My Profile page. It is your responsibility to make sure your My Profile page is correct at least 30 days prior to the check issue date listed above. If your scholarship check needs to be reissued for any reason, a reissue fee may apply.

Official transcripts must be obtained through your college registrar’s office. Transcripts are normally printed on official letterhead and/or state that they are official. Transcripts may contain or require a signature.

Note: Your official transcript may come to you in a sealed envelope, stating it will become unofficial if opened. When scanning or copying your official transcripts, a watermark may appear noting that they are now unofficial. Despite any watermarks or sealed envelopes, you may open the envelope if needed to upload the document. These documents will be considered official for our purposes. Acceptable file types are .pdf, .tif, .png, .jpeg, .jpg, .bmp and .xps. When scanning or copying, you do not need to include a copy of the sealed envelope.

Unofficial transcripts may be accessed through your school’s online student portal. These pages must still be converted to one of the acceptable file formats. Unofficial transcripts must contain your name.

You should request your recommendation as early as possible to ensure there is sufficient time for the recommendation to be submitted by the recommendation deadline. You do not have to wait until all other portions of your application are complete before requesting your recommendation.

College/University Transcript

All required supporting documents must be uploaded to your online application by the application deadline. If you do not follow the upload instructions exactly, your application may remain incomplete. Documents that meet the criteria required for this application that are uploaded by the deadline will be processed and considered on time.

Notifications are sent primarily via email to the email you used to create your account. Some programs offer text and voice notifications. Ultimately, it is your responsibility as the applicant to verify your application status on your Home page is Complete.

• Deadline reminder emails are typically sent two weeks and one week prior to the
  application deadline.
• Recommendation Deadline Reminder: You may receive a notification after the application deadline but prior to the recommendation deadline if your recommendation is still incomplete.
• Selection Results: Selection results notifications are sent to all Complete applicants.
• Funds Disbursed: Once your funds have been issued, you will be notified.
• Other Scholarships: Occasionally, if you meet the requirements for another scholarship administered by ISTS, you will be notified. These notifications are not guaranteed.

Your information is never sold to any third party for marketing purposes.

You will receive notifications from two possible ISTS email addresses: donotreply@applyISTS.com and ContactUs@applyISTS.com. You should add both of these email addresses to your “safe senders list” to ensure important emails are not sent to your spam or junk folder.

Notifications vary by program based on the Program timeline. Refer to the Program timeline listed above for more specific information. Typically, deadline reminders are sent two and one week prior to the application deadline.

While you can opt out of notifications, this is not advised. It is your responsibility as the applicant to ensure your application is Complete. If you opt out of notifications, you will not receive deadline reminders, or selection results. Your information is never sold to any third party. The only emails you will receive from ISTS are directly related to your application and, possibly, other scholarship opportunities.

All uploaded documents must show your name. If you are using an online portal to access your required documentation and all that is visible is the salutation and your first name (Example: Welcome Joe!), this will meet the name requirement.

The only acceptable file types are .pdf, .tif, .png, .jpeg, .jpg, .bmp and .xps. Any other formats will not be reviewed, and your application will remain incomplete. You may upload multiple files within a .zip file. All files within a .zip file must be in one of the acceptable file types listed above.

ISTS does not accept any editable file format.

Review the reason your document was rejected. Once you have corrected that issue, upload a new copy of your document.

You may create a .zip file containing more than one file as long as everything included is in an acceptable file type of .pdf, .tif, .png, .jpeg, .jpg, .bmp and .xps. Do not upload additional documentation that is not requested. It will not be reviewed.

To use this format, follow the steps outlined below:

1. Create a new folder on your Desktop, name it the document type you will be uploading. For example, Test Scores, Transcript, or Financial Documentation.
2. Move all the files you wish to upload into the new folder.
3. Right-click on the folder from your Desktop:
   PC Users: select “Send to,” followed by “Compressed (zipped) folder.”
   Mac Users: select “Compress [folder name].”
4. Your new .zip file will be located on your Desktop, ready to upload.

Documents are processed daily. Your document will be processed within 3 business days. If your document was uploaded prior to the deadline, it will be considered. However, it is your responsibility to monitor your Home page to ensure your document is Accepted.

All documents must be reviewed for the required information and for accuracy. All documents uploaded prior to the application deadline will be reviewed and considered. It is your responsibility to monitor your Home page to ensure your document is Accepted and that your application status reads Complete.

DO:

• Upload one of the accepted file types.
• Only upload the requested and required documents.
• Black out any Social Security Numbers. This is not required, but highly advised.
• Return to your Home page to verify your documents have been Accepted.

DON’T:

• Upload a Microsoft® Word document (.doc, .docx) or any other format we don’t accept.
• Upload more than the requested documentation.
• Assume your documents are correct and accepted once you have uploaded them.
• Upload a document stating you are mailing your documents.
• Assume the required document does not pertain to you. If the application states the document is required, your application will remain incomplete if you do not provide that document. Contact us if you are having trouble providing a required document.
• Password protect your uploaded documents. Password-protected documents will be rejected.
• Upload any file that has a viewing expiration date

Complete applications will have a green COMPLETE button, as shown below:

If your application status has a grey or orange STARTED button as shown below, click the button to view the status of each requirement.

It is your responsibility to make sure your application is Complete. Your online application form must be Submitted, all required documents uploaded and Accepted and all required supplements must be Complete.

When you log in to your Home page, you will see all applications listed. Each application will have an overall status button visible to you.

A grey STARTED button means you have not submitted your online form. An orange STARTED button means you have submitted the online form but you are either missing required items for the application, or your documents are still processing.

When you click the status button, you will see a more detailed status. This will show you the status of each individual required portion of the application. For more details on your Home page, review the Home Page Tutorial section.

As long as your documents were uploaded prior to the application deadline, they are considered. You should continue to monitor your Home page until you see the status update to ACCEPTED. If the status updates to REJECTED, contact us immediately.

If your STARTED button is grey, you have unfortunately missed the deadline and your application is now read-only. If your STARTED button is orange, click the button to view what is missing. Your required documents may be PROCESSING. As long as your documents were uploaded prior to the application deadline, they are considered. You should continue to monitor your Home page until you see the status update to ACCEPTED. If the status updates to REJECTED, contact us immediately.

Tax laws vary by country. In the United States, scholarship funds used exclusively for the payment of tuition and textbooks are normally not taxable. The scholarship recipient is responsible for taxes, if any, that may be assessed against his or her scholarship award. We recommend consulting your tax adviser for more guidance. You may also consult IRS Publication 970 for additional information.

For more helpful information about scholarships plus answers to common inquiries related to ISTS’ technology and processes, visit our Self-Help Portal at ISTSprogramsupport.com.

ISTS office hours are Monday through Friday from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM Central Time, and Saturday from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM Central Time. Program Support Representatives are available via live chat and email during these hours. Use the green Help button (as shown below) at the bottom right corner of your screen to contact us.

In the top right corner of the page, you’ll find the HELP link to the ISTS Help Portal and your My Profile page.

To start an application, click ADD NEW APPLICATION. You will then be asked for the Program Key. If you do not know the Program Key, try the name of the company or organization offering the award.

As the applicant, you will not click FILL OUT A SUPPLEMENT. This will be used only by a third party completing a required supplement form for your application. Not every application requires a supplement. Make sure you review the requirements for each application.

Applications View

Each application will have its own box. You will see the program name, application link, and Status Button.

Application Status Buttons

Each application will have one of the following Status Buttons:

If your status button is grey, it means you have not yet clicked the Submit button on the last page of your application. If your status button is orange, it means you have clicked Submit but you are missing one or more required documents or supplements for that application. For a detailed status of each application requirement, click the Status Button.

Detailed Status View

Once you click the Status Button, your detailed status view will appear. Below is an example. Next, we’ll review what each of these statuses means.

This top section shows you the date you started the application, application deadline date, status of your form and provides a button to return to your application.

If you have submitted your online application form, the status would read:

This section allows you to track the progress of your required supplement forms. Some programs require this information to remain confidential. In those cases, you will not see the status of the form. It is simply your responsibility to make sure the person completing that supplement form received the instructions. Not all applications require a supplement. Make sure you review the application requirements for each application.

When your supplement has been requested but not started, you will see the status NOT STARTED:

Once the supplement has been started, you will see the status STARTED:

Once the supplement form is submitted, you will see the status COMPLETE:

This section allows you to track the status of each required attachment or supporting document(s) for your application. Not all applications have required attachments. Make sure you review the application requirements for each application.

There are four attachment statuses:

If you have uploaded a document that does not meet the minimum requirements for the application, your document will be rejected. Your attachment status will read:

You will see the attachment type, file name, the reason for rejection and the date/time your document was rejected.

To upload a corrected document, simply click GO TO FORM and upload your document. Make sure you have fixed any of the issues noted in the reason for rejection so that your document is not rejected a second time.

If the application deadline has passed and your application is not Complete because your document was rejected after the application deadline, you must contact us immediately so that we can assist you. Most programs allow ISTS to help you correct a rejected document within the 3 business day processing time after the deadline. However, this is not guaranteed. Make sure you follow the Upload Instructions within your application to ensure your document meets all minimum criteria.